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Shooting Snow on Film (APX100 developed in ID11)

We’re having unseasonably cold weather here in Dorset – snow in March is rare to say the least, so it’s inevitable that it’s going to get photographed. All shots on AgfaPhoto APX100 at box speed in an OM2N, developed in ID11 after it’s remarkably good results on Silvermax film.

These were all taken on a single roll at a small church nearby with +1 or +2 exposure compensation applied. The slight blue cast from the scanner was left in place as I quite like it, though it would have been easy to remove.

First, lines of gravestones black against the snow and a bit of an abstract, graphic look (it’s all the rage in Dorset at the moment..).

That path was treacherous! The few midtones aren’t bad – ID11 seems margnally less contrasty than Rodinal, but the grain isn’t much better on this roll. I’ll give it one more go but Rodinal will probably make a return for developing this film.

The 28mm lens has done well here wide open at f4, but the depth of field is so great it hasn’t really isolated the foreground.

And finally a favourite location again, the slightly darker area of sky towards the horizon helps to divide the frame horizontally nicely. That’s a strange pattern of melted snow though…

Shooting in snow can be pretty tricky on film – the positive exposure compensation required varies a great deal depending on the intensity of the light, and if you’re not used to snow you never get enough time to practice! Luckily most B/W film has enough exposure latitude to produce an acceptable image, and APX100 seems particularly good in this respect.